Commuter Profile
Names: Melvina Young & Carol Nellis
Work at: Crown Center employers
Live in: Lee's Summit, Mo.
Commute mode: Carpool
Their story: Is it possible for two commuters to overcome differences in race, religion, politics and even (gasp!) driving styles to create a successful carpool and an enduring friendship? Two Lee’s Summit women have proved that it can be done.
How the carpool started: Carol Nellis and Melvina Young have been sharing the ride to work since February 2006 when Melvina was hired at her current employer near Crown Center. Melvina was new to the Kansas City area and was nervous about commuting. Information about carpooling was included in her hiring packet, and right away Melvina took steps to join an existing carpool that included Carol.
For Carol, an employee of Crown Center Central Parking, carpooling wasn’t a natural choice. “I would’ve been the last person to carpool,” she says. But, when gas prices started soaring and she realized she was putting 20,000 miles every year on her beloved 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix, she knew she had to make a change. By carpooling every day, it now takes two and half years to put 20,000 on her car, and she knows she’s extending its life by driving it less. “I’m being nice to it,” she says.
Carol and Melvina take turns driving each week but are also flexible about trading driving days when necessary. Their morning pick-up time is between 6:25 and 6:30 (or as Melvina says, “6:27ish.”).
Advice for prospective carpoolers: Flexibility comes up often when they talk about advice for new carpoolers. Carol says commuters should examine how flexible their work hours and supervisors are before committing to a carpool. Those who have no flexibility in their work schedules should not carpool with those who do because expectations will probably be different.
Melvina advises new carpoolers to discuss expectations and rules of conduct for the carpool. Both agree it’s best to for carpoolers to assert themselves and raise issues at the time they occur rather than staying silent. Other advice includes:
- Be considerate of other people’s time. Don’t keep your carpool waiting while you take out the trash and feed the dog.
- If you are the one picking up and dropping off people, plan to leave your house and the office a little earlier to allow yourself enough time to pick everyone up.
Opposites attract: Carol and Melvina are different in many ways. One tends to have more conservative political views, the other more liberal. They come from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. And, while Carol knows her way around the area, Melvina says plainly, “I have a terrible sense of direction. Carol is my GPS.”
Despite their differences, Carol and Melvina have a lot of fun together on the commute to work. On any given day, they might groove to some ‘80s tunes, trade commentaries on the current administration or debate the pros and cons of giving money to homeless people. Over time, they’ve become good friends. Melvina even wrote a poem for Carol’s wedding.
“We’re very different but we always seem to find a connection,” Melvina says. “It’s because no matter what we say it always comes from a common place of respect.”
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